Commodity plastics are usually molded into usable shapes by techniques such as melt processing. This method has become one of the most popular and accepted methods to produce manufactured plastic products. However, one significant drawback of this processing technique is degradation to material which can be imposed by high temperatures (usually >200° C.) typically required to process polymeric materials. This can result in a reduction of the mechanical performance of the material, and can limit the number of times the material can be recycled before disposal.
A different approach has been proposed by using the pressure-induced miscibility of block copolymers in materials that have been termed “baroplastic.” Baroplastic block copolymers are processable by the application of pressure at significantly reduced temperatures that can reduce the degradation imposed to the polymer during processing, extending its recycle life. International patent application serial no. PCT/US01/04879, entitled “Baroplastic Materials” describes such systems. However, the synthesis of well-defined block copolymers requires significant effort. Although block copolymers are used industrially, their synthesis at large scales remains a challenge, and the choices of monomers that can be used in block copolymer synthesis are limited.